Summary: We will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint about the Council publishing the incorrect start date for its green waste collection service. This is because the matter has not caused Mrs X any significant personal injustice which is so serious that it warrants an investigation.

The complaint

1. Mrs X complains the Council published the incorrect start date for its garden waste collection subscription service on its website. This caused Mrs X to miss the first collection. Mrs X also complains about the Council’s handling of her complaint about this.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’, which we call ‘fault’. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse effect on the person making the complaint, which we call ‘injustice’. We provide a free service, but must use public money carefully. We do not start an investigation if we decide the tests set out in our Assessment Code are not met. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended)
3. We provide a free service, but must use public money carefully. We do not start or continue an investigation if we decide any injustice is not significant enough to justify our involvement. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))

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How I considered this complaint

4. I considered information provided by the complainant and the Council.
5. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

6. Mrs X complained to the Council about the matter set out in paragraph one, above.
7. The green waste collection service is an optional, annual subscription service. It costs £40 per year for a maximum of 20 garden waste collections.
8. The Council told Mrs X it could not offer any compensation for the missed collection.
9. Mrs X is dissatisfied with the Council’s response. She says it clouded the issue and blamed the system and its contractor whilst also failing to explain how it will put the matter right.
10. We will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint, This is because, whilst I acknowledge the missed collection may have caused some level of annoyance and inconvenience, the matter has not caused her any significant personal injustice which is so serious that it warrants the use of public funds to carry out a further investigation, and the monetary loss for a single missed collection equates to just £2. We do not investigate every complaint we receive and we must focus our limited public resources on investigating those complaints where someone has suffered a significant personal injustice as a result of fault by a body in our jurisdiction. This is not the case here.
11. Whilst Mrs X also complains about the Council’s handling of her complaint, we do not consider complaint handling issues in isolation where we are not also investigating the substantive matter. This is because it is not a good use of limited public funds to do so.

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Final decision

12. We will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint because the matter complained about has not caused her any significant personal injustice which is serious enough to warrant an investigation.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman